What is data security? Data security involves safeguarding data while in transit, at rest, and in the cloud. In some cases, governmental regulations require data to be deleted, while others need to be protected in accordance with PCI DSS and HIPAA data security laws. Regardless of how data is protected, the best way to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands is to implement the proper data security measures. This article will look at data classification and Cloud security, as well as data loss prevention.
Data classification solutions protect sensitive data
Different classification levels in data present varying levels of risk. For example, some of the most vulnerable data are those containing private and personal information such as a person’s date of birth and gender. The threat to both individuals and organizations is greatest when these elements are breached. For example, if someone steals the Social Security number of an individual, this information can be used to identify them and damage their reputation. This is where data classification comes in.
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With GDPR regulations becoming more strict, it is imperative for companies to know exactly what data is considered sensitive and how to protect it. Organizations must also be able to comply with requests by users to view their data, or risk facing heavy fines and the loss of customer trust. Data classification solutions make data more identifiable and improve end-user awareness. Microsoft, Titus, and Bolden James all provide solutions that categorize data.
Cloud data security protects data at rest and in flight
The importance of protecting cloud-based data cannot be overstated. With the proliferation of cloud applications, the attack surface increases exponentially. In addition to protecting data at rest and in flight, organizations must also protect the entire cloud-native stack, including virtualization, application security, and infrastructure. For this purpose, CrowdStrike developed a cloud-native platform for data security, which allows organizations to build applications with the highest level of security.
The primary concerns surrounding cloud data security are observability and visibility. Data centers provide more control over their documents, as administrators can physically replace hard drives when they fail. By contrast, data in the cloud is stored in a nebulous environment that cannot be seen or accessed by anyone except the provider. Despite this, enterprises must rely on the security measures provided by their cloud provider to prevent breaches.
HIPAA and PCI DSS data security laws
While compliance with HIPAA and PCI DSS data-security laws is often a given, the two are different in some respects. Although they both aim to protect sensitive data, achieving compliance with either one does not guarantee compliance with the other. While HIPAA and PCI standards have similar validation points, their differences are small, and the specificity of each rule limits the overlap. Both laws require healthcare organizations to perform regular security risk analyses, train employees and implement technical measures to protect PHI from unauthorized access.
While PCI DSS has more specific requirements, HIPAA covers a much wider range of issues, such as protecting patient privacy and improving health quality. For example, health records have a black-market value of between ten and twenty times that of a credit card number. Moreover, both laws require businesses that process credit card transactions to adhere to their requirements. In the healthcare industry, HIPAA is a prerequisite for any healthcare company, while PCI DSS compliance is required for businesses that process credit card data.
Data loss prevention
Data loss prevention is an important part of data security. In today’s information-based business, data is the lifeblood. Without it, businesses would not exist. But a variety of threats can cause it to be lost, including system failure, human error, data corruption, cyberattack, and natural disaster. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to protect your data and prevent loss. Read on to learn more about data loss prevention.
One of the most important steps in implementing DLP is to understand exactly what information your company holds and where it is stored in your system. Additionally, you need to know who is responsible for what within your DLP security strategy. Certain employees are better equipped to protect sensitive data than others. Assigning essential roles to each employee is a critical step. Make sure to delegate these roles from the start, within appropriate teams.
